DAVIE MOYES did his patriotic duty by bringing Premiership big guns Everton north for pre-season preparations.

DAVIE MOYES did his patriotic duty by bringing Premiership big guns Everton north for pre-season preparations.

Having his star-studded side play friendlies here gives Scottish clubs a welcome financial boost.

But as he surveyed the wreckage of our game in the wake of the infighting over the Rangers fiasco, the Goodison boss admits he has never known fans in his homeland to be on such a downer.

As a proud Scot and a man who likes to talk up our game down south, that leaves him concerned for football in this country at all levels.

Moyes told MailSport: “I think we’re all pretty low about not being involved in the major tournaments at international level. Not being in a World Cup Finals or the Euros for 14 years or more is a travesty.

“Plenty of people are trying to find solutions to try to make it better. But we’re now hitting depths Scottish football has never seen before.

“At club level when I look at the way some things have been handled then, morally, they have been absolutely correct. There really can be no complaints.

“Rangers are a great institution but people have been let down as they have not been paid what they are owed. The upshot is that Rangers are now in the Third Division and that seems unbelievable.

“I can’t see how recent events will encourage more people to get involved in the game – whether that be people wanting to work as coaches or businesses who might have invested in Scottish football.

“I also can’t see clubs wanting to spend money on better facilities. I find that all quite sad and worrying. I can only see it all as a negative but I understand why some of the decisions have been made.

“Rangers have put a lot of people in a difficult situation, whether that be the SFA or the SFL. Decisions had to be made and the game has to try to move on.”

Moyes wouldn’t be surprised if some fans decide the game in Scotland no longer offers value for money and start to head down south instead every week to take in Premiership action.

He said: “Some supporters might now be really be turned off by the game in their own country.

“Quite a number of them might fancy travelling to England a couple of times a month to watch a Premier League game, whether it be in the North East or in Manchester or on Merseyside.

"It’s only three hours in the car or you can travel down in comfort on the train. You can watch a game and be back up the road by nine at night.

“That is a realistic option and it would be sad to see a lot of supporters turn away from their own country but that is now a possibility.”

Moyes is usually a regular visitor to games in Scotland. He would often come north to assess potential signing targets and loved to judge players against Celtic and Rangers and in Old Firm clashes.

But with the Glasgow derby off the agenda for three years, Moyes admits the game will suffer at all levels.

He said: “It’s a blow for the whole game not to mention the fans.

“Listen, we all love Old Firm games and the prospect of that fixture not taking place for at least three years is not appealing. There is an appetite all over the world for that match.

“It’s not going to be great for the game in Scotland without that fixture.

“I know there has been talk of what Scottish football would be like without the Old Firm. They have explored the possibility of the clubs leaving on and off over the past 10 or 12 years.

“It would have been good for both clubs to move to a bigger league and it would have been interesting to see how the game fared in Scotland without them.

“But this scenario is a whole lot different. We’re all pretty certain who will win the SPL this season and that can’t be healthy.

“However, it’s vital the fans of every other club, from St Johnstone to Motherwell, from Dundee United up to Aberdeen and back down to Kilmarnock, all get behind their team and support them in numbers every weekend.”

Moyes has signed Stevie Naismith after the forward refused to join the newco Rangers. He has high hopes for the player the Ibrox club valued at £5million and is delighted to have landed the Scotland star for free.

He said: “From what I’ve seen of him in the past, his personality fits in well with us. It fits in with what we’ve got and what we like to bring in.

“He gets on well with the group. He’s a worker and a competitor. He can score goals and that’s something we badly need. I hope he’ll score goals for me.

“Really, his all-round attributes look as if he will be well suited to this club and the demands we have here.

“We’re still waiting on him to totally recover from his knee injury. We won’t push him – we’ll be gentle and considerate as he’s missed nine months of football.

“When he moved from Kilmarnock to Rangers I wasn’t too surprised. His blond hair always made him stand out.

“It took him a while for him to settle in at Rangers but then he found his game and a high level of consistency.

“He’s a good pro and everyone speaks highly of him. Nikica Jelavic talked a lot about him last season and told me he was a very good player we should try to sign.”